just an accident
by narugirl92
Summary: hinata is alone training when she accidently hits someone she shouldnt have ...please R&R first chapter improved XDXDXD
1. Chapter 1

Living as a ninja was hard , especially when you were constantly reminded that you were not a good one. Such was the case of Hyuuga Hinata. She was the heiress of a powerful clan, a clan in which the members were known for their heartlessness and cruelty. Unlike them, however, Hinata was kind and soft, which is why she was seen as a weak type of person in the eyes of her family. It was not easy for her, and the rejection that she had to endure made her feel like dirt when in reality, she was strong, beautiful, smart . . . Our story begins in the Hyuuga residence, long after Hinata has accepted her family's opinion of her. . .

"Hinata!!!!" A loud scream roared in the often quiet house.

"Y-yes, fa-ther ?" a small voice answered.

"Why are you slacking? - I want to see you train, you little piece of shit!!!! God, if only looks could kill . . ."

"Ye-yes, fa-fa-father," she whispered, while silently she prayed that one day that harsh look would become one of love and understanding.

After hearing her father, she ran to the training grounds and started training.

The truth is, Hinata was not slacking; she was studying medical scrolls that Tsunade-sama had secretly given her since her father would not let her become a medic ninja. Yes, she stills remembers it; it had been the very first thing that she had asked her father. However, her pleadings were to no avail, so she went to Tsunade . . .

**Flashback------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **

It was a regular day in Tsunade-sama's office: sake … paperwork . . . sake . . . Shizune trying to take the sake away . . . broken furniture…the usual.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!!!!" Shizune cried in distress as she struggled to pry a bottle from her superior's fingers.

"Shizune, give me my sake, or I will KI -" She was interrupted by a banging on the door.

Tsunade stumbled towards the knock, putting on her most menacing look, but her features instantly softened when she saw little Hinata crying her heart on the other side of her door.

"Hinata! What happened?!"

"M-y fa-fa-ther didn't let me become a medic nin," Hinata sniffed. "He-he . . . He sa-a-aid tha-tha-that I could n-never became something beyond the s-s-scum that I already am --" She put her hands over her face to cover her eyes and kept sobbing.

"That Hiashi!!" Tsunade growled, slamming her fist into the wall. She glanced down at

Hinata, sudden fury and liquor making her steadily raise her voice. "_Who_ does he THINK HE _IS_?! THAT JERK!!"

"LOOK, HINATA," she yelled, pulling the girl inside. Hinata winced at the volume.

"HE CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT!!! SO I'M GONNA TRAIN YOU AND YOU'RE GONNA BE A KICK-ASS MEDIC, OKAY?!"

"Bu-but, what i-if he-he fi-fi-finds out?"

"HINATA . . ." she said boisterously, peering at the Hyuuga.

"I'M THE FREAKIN' HOKAGE HE CAN'T SAY A _THING_ TO ME, CAN HE?!"

Hinata's face lit up instantly, and for once she saw a little bit of light in her dark and lonely world.

"O-o-okay," she said, and gave giving the Hokage a smile that got to the bottom of her old heart, the same smile that Dan had given her long ago.

'_Our heiress is actually really good… she has the same talent as Sakura, and who knows . . . maybe even more.' _(b/n: I wasn't sure if this was the narrator or Tsunade . . .)

**End of flashback-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Hinata was now eighteen years old and has learned things that would impress anyone -- not just as a doctor, but as a ninja and as a person. The sad thing was that no matter how much courage she had built over the last few years or how powerful she was, the fear that her father had instilled in her won't go away. She can only imagine how he might react if he discovered that she was learning non-Hyuuga techniques, and that she defied him by going to Tsunade to ask for something he did not give her permission for, even if it had happened years ago.

But, Hinata's life was not as bad when the night came. You see, the night offers a lot of things for lovers, for thieves, for ninjas . . . And for Hinata, the night was her Gateway to freedom; in the night, no one could see her, and she was not the useless heiress, or a weakling or a failure; she was just shadow, just herself in a deep forest. This allowed her to train in the lake without being noticed. If she fell, cried, laughed, improved, the only one who knew was her. Just her.

Knowing this, she could dance in and with the water. She could practice her attacks and create new ones mixing the Hyuuga art, electricity . . . It was her secret place, the only place where she could be free, free from that world that has made her suffer for all these years.

"Yes, free," murmured Hinata to herself as she danced graciously in the enormous lake.

Until she heard movement. Then steps …

Hinata froze, feeling entirely intruded upon and exposed. In a ridiculously short time, thousands of questions ran through her mind: Who is it? Is it an animal or person? Friend or foe?

Desperation got the best of her. She attacked at the shadow without even activating her Byakugan to see who it was, but it was blocked by a shield of sand.

It was then that she realized who the shadow was and how much trouble this was going to cause.

**Ok, this is my first fanfic ever written. I'm not an English speaker, I'm from Chile, so my vocabulary is not that good. I hope you like it! Please, if you have any ideas or you want to make a critic, tell me because I need it …!!!! Thanks XDXDXD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, here it goes - the continuation! Hope you like it! and I still don't own Naruto.  
And I want to say thanks to my beta …Tek Sonay¡¡¡¡¡ You're the best¡¡¡¡**

Sabaku no Gaara was the name of the Kazekage, and as one he must always ensure peace both inside and outside his village. This has been Gaara's ultimate goal since he became a kage, and of course, the very first village he traveled to was Konoha, the place where all his dreams and hopes started, the place where that knucklehead ninja defeated him and made him believe that he could change . . . And he did.

"GAARAAA!!!!" Temari tried to get him to say something, but Gaara was concentrating too much to hear.

"Hey, Gaara, look! A naked woman!!!" shouted Kankuro, only to get hit in the head by Temari.

"_Dumb **!!"_

"_Ouch!_ It was just a joke!!!"

"Hey, both of you shut up," Gaara said in a low and scary tone.

"C-Come on, we were just wondering if you were all right. You've been so quiet since we got here," said Temari nervously yet with a kind, sister-like smile.

Gaara knew both of his siblings loved him and cared for him, and he really was thankful, but sometimes he just needed some time to think. Tonight was perfect. It had been a while since the last time he had been alone to gaze at the moon and the stars . . . So that very night, he went to the lake in the outskirts of Konoha. The moon was full, and everything appeared to glow under its silvery light. He was comparing the pale-looking tree trunks of this Land of Fire to his own village's sand, but his thoughts got interrupted when…

A sudden ray of light almost hit him in the face, but he swiftly blocked it with his shield of sand. Even in Konoha he had to protect himself - that was the only element in his life he couldn't get rid of.

He lifted his hand to dispatch a quick blow when he heard a slightly familiar voice.

"OH! I-I-I-I'm so-so sorry –!"

"Huh?" Someone - a girl from the sound of it - attacked him and then _apologizes_?

"I-I-I di-di-n't know it was you, are you hurt?"

Gaara carefully lowered his hand and stepped out from the tree-cover that surrounded the shoreline. It was then that he got a clear view of the girl.

She was standing in the shallows of the lake with her hands clasped to her chest, her pale eyes staring at him with shock and remorse. Her dark blue hair was glistening from the water she had apparently been playing in, and moonlight made her look as if she had a halo. He recognized her but her name was still unknown to him.

"M-m-y na-name i-i-s Hyuuga Hinata," the girl stuttered hesitantly, taking the initiative as if he actually _wanted_ to know her name. "W-We-e ha-ha-ven't be-be-en introduced, right?"

"Hn . . ."

Now that Gaara saw the girl wasn't a threat, he felt he was wasting his time making conversation with her. Gaara didn't actually care about the girl - She had obviously simply mistaken him for an enemy, so he wasn't mad or anything. Gaara turned his back to her and slowly retraced his steps, but he stopped when he heard a gentle sob and turned his head to see.

The girl was actually _crying_. Tears slid down her porcelain cheeks and over her fingers as she tried to wipe them away.

"Y-Yo-u a-a-are m-a-a-ad a-a-t me-me!" She started to cry louder and hiccupping, making Gaara for the first time in his life nervous.

"I'm so-so-so sorry," she said, sobbing helplessly.

"I don't care, it was just an accident," he answered emotionlessly.

She paused mid-hiccup and looked at him in surprise, then immediately stopped crying and sighed in relief.

Gaara wasn't surprised by her sudden shift in emotion. After all, Temari did it all the time. But the smile that Hinata suddenly gave him, the incredible warmth of her eyes at that moment . . . It left him static, which had, until this moment, been unheard of in his 18 years.

As a kage, he was constantly dealing with all sorts of people. The problem was, they all seemed to be afraid of him, though he didn't blame them for it …and then this girl comes out of nowhere and attacks him, then apologizes, then cries, then gives him such a pure and innocent smile that he can't stop staring at her.

Hinata was so happy that the Kazekage didn't hold any grudges against her that she smiled brightly. If she was to be hated by one of Naruto's friends, she just wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes. Even though her crush for him had completely vanished, Naruto was still her best friend.

"A-A-re y-ou o-okay?" Hinata noticed Gaara was in his own little world called "mind," so she took a hesitant step towards him. Gaara heard the crunch of gravel beneath her feet and quickly reacted as if he had just remembered he was there.

"I'm fine." Before she could say anything, he disappeared in puff of sand.

***

Hinata went home soon after the encounter and stayed up a while thinking. That was the first time she had ever spoken to Gaara.

_'The only thing I know about him is that he changed himself and the way people see him , he became an honorable Kage, and he's really close to Naruto. Wow, what an incredible person,' _she thought as she gazed up at her ceiling.

…He, in some ways, represented all the things she wanted to be. Well, not a kage …but someone other ninjas could trust, and not just her teammates but also her family . . .

Oh, how she wished her father would acknowledge her. Hinata sighed and turned over, and soon she fell asleep thinking how much she wanted to be like Gaara someday.

***

Gaara, on the other hand, was not thinking about her. Or rather, he was thinking about her power since he knew that Hinata, as a Hyuuga, should only have Hyuuga techniques. At the lake she had attacked him with a water jutsu. This, Gaara found extremely interesting.

"Interesting indeed," he said to himself, still self-absorbed in his thoughts.

"Who's interesting?" asked Temari with a curious look.

"She is," he muttered without thinking.

"She? As in …a _girl?!" _Kankuro asked with an "I-don't-believe-this-**" look in his eyes.

"Huh? OH **, I was talking out loud!"

"Gaara, so you met a girl?" said Temari with an idiotic grin on her face.

"Hn," answered Gaara.

"Oh, come on!!! Is she hot? What's her name?" started Kankuro who, as always, got hit again on the head by Temari.

"Dumb-**!! This is a _girl _we're talking about, a G-I-R-L!! GIIIIRL . . ." she tried to explain to their brother.

Gaara stared at his siblings and wondered how could he be related to them. Quickly forgetting about the Hyuuga girl, he went back to his chambers.

The next morning, Gaara ended all his business in Konoha, ate ramen with Naruto, and went back to Suna.

***

Hinata that same morning realized that she had a new person to look up to, even though the two of them didn't really know each other … Little she know what the future had in store for her.

**Yeah second chapter, Im so happy XDXDXDXD hope you like it …!!!please review **

**Nos vemos en el proximo capitulo¡¡¡¡¡¡**


	3. Chapter 3

_SORRY FOR THE WAIT …HERES THE NEW CHAPTER ,R&R¡¡¡¡¡¡_

_'Mmm . . . It's just 6 a.m, and I have to wake up . . . but last night's training session got me sooo tired . . . Mmm, come on, Hinata, get a hold of yourself!! _

Hinata, still half asleep, was trying to tell herself to wake up.

"HINAAAAATAAAA-CHAAAAAN!!!! GOOOOD MOOOOORNING!!!!!"

Suddenly, the mattress beneath her lifted, and the next thing she knew, Hinata was on the floor underneath it. She gasped in surprise and frustration as she struggled to get out.

"_K-Kiba!!_"

And oh, what a better way to start the morning than by being kicked out of bed by Kiba-kun. When Hinata finally resurfaced, there he was, a wide grin on his face as he offered her a hand.

. . . No, there's no better way.

"Hinata, we need to leave. The Hokage is waiting for us," said Shino with his usual low and quiet tone. Hinata could see his lips twitching as Kiba helped her off the floor.

"Hai, we need to leave – I'm going to get my weapons and my scrolls. Mmm, what else?" she asked herself as she straightened her mattress back on her bed. She shot Kiba a mild glare before picking up her stuff.

"Well, Hinata, maybe you should start with clothes, don't you think?" said Kiba in a matter-of fact tone, stifling his laughter.

That was when she noticed that she was still in her pajamas. Hinata's face seemed to turn from pink to red to purple to yellow, and after passing through all the colors of the rainbow in record time, she only managed to say:

"G-GEEEEEET OUUUUUUUUT OF MY R-ROOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!"

"Did you hear something?" asked Kankuro.

"No," Gaara and Temari replied simultaneously.

"Huh? Must be my imagination then . . ."

". . . Or maybe you're just retarded."

"I dare you to say that again!"

"Retarded, retarded, retarded, retarded, retarded!!"

"Stooop!" shouted Kankuro, slapping his hand over his ears.

"You two - _shut up_," Gaara growled. "We've been traveling for three days from Suna to Konoha, and I'm tired of hearing you shout and fight. I'm not in the mood . . . understand?"

Gaara was usually a nice person, someone you could trust your life. However, a tired and angry Gaara was _not_ a nice person . . . So his siblings, who knew better, shut up immediately.

Gaara inwardly sighed and traced back to his previous line of thought before the interruption. He had been thinking about the letter Tsunade sent him a few day ago. It had stated that some ninjas in the village who possessed a special scroll had been captured and taken as hostages. Konoha had asked Suna to help them retrieve the scroll and the ninjas, and they were going to team up with one of the rookie nine and go to the Land of Water which, at this moment, was in winter.

* * *

"The Land of Water!!!"

"Yes, Hinata, you, Kiba, Shino, and the Suna siblings will go rescue the team there . . . You got something to say?" the Hokage inquired.

"No . . . not at all," Hinata murmured, trying to sound serious despite her inner excitement. In the Land of Water, she could use all the new jutsu that she had learned and even her _medical _jutsu! This was her chance to show her team and the world that she could be a great ninja.

Gaara of the Desert spoke. He and his siblings had been quietly observing the meeting from a corner of the room. Hinata tried not to look at him as his low, dry voice vibrated throughout the room.

"We will part tomorrow at 8:00 . . . pack everything and meet us at the village entrance," he said.

"HAI!" everyone shouted and banished in a puff of smoke.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………XDXDXDXD

That afternoon, Hinata packed the rest of her supplies and went to sleep earlier than usual. She knew that this mission was an opportunity she couldn't waste, so she needed to be well-rested and at her best. Hinata wanted to protect her teammates and the Suna siblings. She was tired of always having to be rescued, of being the damsel in distress, so this time she was planning to be strong, for herself _and _her people. With that thought, she fell asleep.

That same afternoon, Gaara had his mind on other things, things like snow . . . ice . . . cold . . . all the bitter elements that made him dread this trip; he knew that he was at a disadvantage in the freezing cold.

"_Huff_… If I was to be attacked, how could I defend myself and the others?"

"Hey, don't worry little brother! Everything will be just fine," came Temari's voice out of nowhere.

"It's troublesome, but you're not exactly handicapped in the Land of Water. Well, not you anyways," drawled Shikamaru, who just happened to be with Gaara's sister.

Ignoring the fact that he had spoken his thoughts out loud again, Gaara turned towards the two ninja and crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his unwavering stare resting on the Nara.

Shikamaru shrugged casually. "Well, the kunoichi that's going with you has the power to control water, similar to the way you control your sand."

"Really, Shikamaru? You mean that totally shy and quiet girl we saw today?" Temari asked, leaning in to his side. She was impressed to say the least.

Shikamaru lazily glanced down at her with a smirk. "You can't judge a ninja by her appearance, right?"

"Tsunade would have told us if that were the case," Gaara replied skeptically. He had a hard time believing it, since the incident one year ago had gone to oblivion already.

"Well, Gaara, that's because I'm the only one who knows. Troublesome knowledge, but Hinata would hate it if I told anyone."

"Oh, and why is that?" Temari questioned, even more dumbstruck.

"Hinata doesn't like to be the center of attention. I believe it has something to do with her family; you know the Hyuuga always have weird rules and stuff."

"And how come she told you . . .?"

"She didn't. I saw her once when I was returning from a mission." He folded his arms behind his head and glanced at the sky. "It was pretty amazing . . ."

Gaara stayed silent the whole time, analyzing that something in the back of his mind that was telling him it was true . . . as if he already knew …but the busy life of a kage doesn't leave to much time for contemplation, so he dismissed the idea and left both teens on the path. It would be best if he went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be really tiring.  
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The next morning, Gaara woke up early and went to the meeting place, hoping to have some time to think about the mission ahead. He was surprised to see that the Hyuuga was already there.

She was in the middle of the road, her back to him. From even a distance, he could see she wasn't very alert. Was this really the kunoichi the Nara had said could control water? She hadn't even noticed his arrival, so how was it that she could manipulate an element that needed a lot of discipline?

A cool breeze swept around him as he walked towards her. Then his feet suddenly paused as the Hyuuga came into focus.

She lifted her arms to the sky and took a deep breath. Gaara felt the wind skim past him as it rushed to meet her, seeming eager to be in her gentle presence. It flitted around her slender frame. The wind ruffled her clothes, it glided through her hair and lifted the fine, dark strands into the air. The early morning sunlight touched her pale skin, and her uplifted arms had a healthy glow to them. Fallen leaves of Konoha's autumn were lifted into the sky. They floated down around her like red, orange, yellow, and green jewels.

To say the scene was beautiful would have been an understatement. No, to Gaara, it was almost . . . magical. In his harsh and usually down-to-business world, there was no logical explanation why he should see such a stunning vision of the Hyuuga, or why he should want to keep it engraved in his memory forever.

He didn't understand it. Gaara found his feet, seemingly of their own free will, carrying him closer to the girl, slowly . . . His foot pressed over something fragile.

Hinata heard the twig snap and jumped. She spun around and landed in a defensive position when she noticed Gaara.

"O-OH!! Gaara-sama, good m-morning!!" she hastily greeted him in surprise, making a slight bow to cover the flushing of her cheeks.

It was still for a moment.

"There's no need for such formalities," he finally remarked, staring at the top of her head. "'Gaara' is fine . . ."

"The-then Gaara-san it is!"

"Hn . . ."

"Y-You can just call me 'Hinata' then," she added hesitantly, glancing up at him through the hair that had fallen over her face.

" . . . All right, Hinata-san."

The name rolled off his tongue gently, like rain rolls off a leaf after a spring rain. The connection gave him a strange warm feeling inside, but it also made him somewhat uncomfortable. Gaara glanced off towards the trees as Hinata stared down and pushed her fingers together.

And after ten painfully awkward and silent minutes, the other Suna siblings and the rest of Hinata's team arrived. If they noticed anything was off, they didn't mention it.

After the greetings and presentations, they began their journey towards the frozen waters and snowy winter of the Land of Water.

* * *

"I'm going to get some sticks to make a fire," Temari announced later that night, gazing around at the shivering ninjas inside the camp . "If we don't make one soon, we'll freeze to death!" With that, Temari dug in her heels and ran to the surrounding frozen forest, disappearing in the thick darkness.

They had already arrived in their destinated land, and the cold was starting to affect everyone, especially Gaara. He was the least accustomed of the group to shifts in the weather since his life as a kage never allowed him travel too far. That's why his body, as much as he hated it, was in no condition to deal with such freezing temperatures.

Hinata had always had a good eye for gauging other peoples' thoughts and feelings, and although Gaara was hard to understand, she could clearly see that the cold was affecting him and that he was worried about it . . . Was she actually the only one who noticed?

"G-G-aara-san, are you okay?"

"Hn," he simply said. He wasn't going to be treated like a little child.

Temari came back shortly and began placing the wood she had found in a pyramid shape. Soon, she was stoking a flame in the base of it.

"O-Oh, the-then would you like to eat some hot soup?"

Gaara didn't notice how his face lit up at the sound of the word "hot."

Hinata delved into her bag and began pulling out dried foodstuffs, a canteen, a stirring spoon . . . She shuffled over to the fire and set a medium-sized pot on it (no one was quite sure where_ that _came from) and began to make a simple yet savory soup. The other ninjas stared on with awe and hunger in their eyes.

Gaara soon found himself enjoying a bowl of said soup, trying to hide the fact that he was cold and that he needed it. Hinata had settled on the hard ground with a small bowl of her own, and she watched him from a distance, smiling.

_'Hmm, I never thought he could be so much like a kid,'_ she wondered . . . His exterior was harsh, but inside she thought she glimpsed something warmer and childish.

"What are _you_ smiling at?" teased a woman's voice from her right.

"Yeah, what?" a man asked from the other side of the woman.

"Mmm, just how Gaara can be such a kid, even though he's always so serious . . . " Hinata mumbled as if she was talking to herself. Her mouth continued to smile until -

"Hahahahajhshs!!! Wuahahaha!!!" Temari and Kankuro burst into laughter and had to hold their guts from the pain of it.

"A _kid?!!_ Haha, that's a good one!!"

"Yeah, a really good one!!" Kankuro snickered while cleaning the tears from his eyes.

"What was a good one?" Gaara's dry voice came from across the clearing.

"_Well_, Gaara, it's just that _Hinata_ said, "Mhyj_gigkuhihjkuyh!!_" Hinatas hand was covering Temari's mouth. It made Gaara stare at her, which only made her blush all the colors of the rainbow (again XD).

"I-i-i-i-it wa-wa-was no-no-no-no-thing!!" she stuttered, not looking him in the eyes while her cheeks blazed red.

"Hn . . ." Gaara stared a moment longer then stood up. He left to the tent to rest; tomorrow, they were going to rescue the missing ninjas. Their new information deduced that they were in an abandoned castle not too far from their camp site.

Soon everyone went to sleep with the fire gently burning, hoping in their hearts that they could get the captives and the scroll safely back to Konoha.

THATS IT MY FRIENDS…THANKS FOR READING AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY BETA TEK¡¡¡¡¡ SHE IS AWSOME¡¡¡¡THANK YOU¡¡¡

NOS VEMOS EN EL PROXIMO CAPITULO.


	4. Chapter 4

OKAY, NEXT CHAPTER!! THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS - YOU ARE AWESOME XDXDXD

Beta-note: Sorry it took so long, guys! It was my fault, not narugirl's!!

"Okay, I was able to make a map of the castle - "

"When did you do that, Hinata?" Temari interrupted, impressed by Hinata's detailed description of the target.

"Well, umm, I just used my Byakugan. There's nothing to be impressed about," the Hyuuga humbly explained.

"That rocks, Hinata! You rock!!" shouted Kankuro enthusiastically. Hinata blushed.

"I-i-it's n-no-thing," she said, poking her fingers together in a nervous manner and looking at the frozen ground. It was 3:00 in the afternoon, and the cold was again starting to penetrate their thick coats and scarves.

While Hinata was stuttering her humble reply, Kiba and Shino, being used to it, said nothing. Instead, they looked at the map that Hinata had drawn and realized that . . .

"The scroll and the ninjas are in two different towers," Kiba signaled, "one in the north wing and other in the south wing."

"This should make the rescue easier," Shino's low voice was heard.

"Exactly. We can divide ourselves in two teams," Gaara joined, nodding decisively once. He knew that if he divided the Konoha team and his own, it would be problematic since each group already knew their own group's strengths and weaknesses.

"So Hinata, Shino, and Kiba will go to the north wing where the hostages are," concluded Gaara.

"And Gaara-san, Temari-san, and Kankuro-san will go to the south wing to bring back the secret scroll," finished Hinata. She snuck a glance at the kazekage, who gave her a look of approval. Her momentarily faded blush rushed up again as she looked away.

With the plans made, they took their weapons, their clothes, and then each group - one to the south and the other to the north - started their half an hour trip to the frozen castle through the snow.

**. . . 15 minutes later . . . . . **

"Hinata!!! . . . Try to see with your Byakugan, I think there's someone heading our way!!" shouted Kiba at the top of his lungs. The snow storm numbed their hearing and made it impossible to speak at normal levels.

"I-I can't!!! The snow is too dense, but t-to your right I also feel the same presence- AHHHHHHHH!!!" A sudden remoline had trapped Hinata, an attack made by the person no more than ten meters from them. Hinata was sent flying far to the south, semi-unconscious, and when the remoline stopped, both the man and Hinata were gone.

The sequence of events happened so rapidly that Hinata's teammates stood there in shock. The world around them whipped stinging white and icy; it suddenly seemed emptier than before. Ninja-instinct quickly forced them to recover.

Kiba tried to smell her out and Shino used his bugs, but they could not find her anywhere.

Little did they know that far away, Hinata had managed to stagger to her feet. Miraculously, she found a cave and hid herself inside before loosing consciousness. While Hinata slipped deeply in a cold, dangerous slumber, her team-mates were miles away, praying that she was alive and safe.

"HINATAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Kiba roared with a deep feeling of sorrow, helplessness, and frustration.

**With the Suna siblings . . .**

"Did you hear something?"

"No, Kankuro, nothing," said Temari. "But I do wish there was a storm so I can't hear your moronic thoughts. It's bad enough that we have to walk in this damned snow -"

"_Moronic_? Me? Argggg . . . I dare you to say that again!!!!"

"Moronic, moronic, moronic, moronic, moronic, moronic -"

_"Stoooooop!!" _Kankuro howled, covering his ears with his thick gloves.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!!" shouted an irritated Gaara. Yeah, that's right . . . a cold and angry Gaara.

"We're lucky that we're in the southern part where there is no storm," he hissed at his siblings, who flinched, "though there could be one soon. WE ARE ON A FREAKING MISSION." Gaara hid a grimace at his use of such slang, but in impatience he quickly ignored the fact. "You're both jounins and should know how to behave!"

Then he continued to walk in the snow, this stupid snow that had him frozen to the bone. They were close to the back entrance of the castle, and he knew that he had to be prepared for anything. He already had this feeling in his stomach that made him even more alert.

"Gaara, it looks like we have a welcoming parade," Kankuro said seriously.

"Yes, there are three of them."

At Gaara's reply, the "welcoming parade" stepped into sight; it was the three ninjas that had kidnapped the previous Konoha team and the secret force scroll.

The first one, whose name is irrelevant, was wearing all black, had a large scar across the eye, and was carrying no visible weapons.

The second ninja was clothed mainly in red and had a fan with him, so needless to say he was a wind controller like Temari.

The third one was dressed in silver, but his chakra levels were extremely high, and even though he was not moving, Gaara could already feel him attacking . . . Gaara had no way of knowing that this man in silvery attire had thrown a remoline at Hinata, and that Hinata's location was still unknown to her team-mates.

"Who are you visitors?"

"That is not relevant," Gaara replied harshly to the silver one. He was still tense from his siblings' argument.

"Well, let me introduce myself. I am the great Yuukimaru, and these are my brothers."

"I don't care - let's get this over with."

Gaara quickly took all of his sand and sent an attack at Yuukimaru while Temari and Kankuro engaged the others in battle.

As they fought, Gaara realized that he and this man had similar techniques, but Yuukimaru was at an advantage in this terrain. Hands that control sand would never rival the ones of a snow user, and Gaara was cognizant of it . . . So as he was getting further and further away from his siblings, his enemy's attacks were getting faster and stronger and bigger. Thank goodness Gaara was wearing his sand armour, for otherwise the battle would have already been over . . .

"Really, that's all a kazekage can do? Come on!!!"

Yuukimaru was teasing Gaara because he, too, recognized his upper hand in this fight. Gaara was practically helpless.

Gaara had to formulate a plan and he needed to do it quickly, but what options were there? His sand was limited, his limbs were numb from the extreme cold . . . But he couldn't lose - he COULD NOT LOSE. There must be something . . . _something_!!!

_'Wait . . .' _Gaara suddenly thought._ 'What is that gem . . .?' _Indeed, there was a gem on the man's chest that suddenly filled with light every time _an attack was performed_. Could it be that his enemy's powers came from that rock?

_'Well, here goes nothing . . .'_ Gaara took advantage of his contrariant's ego and started to form a huge lance of sand.

Yuukimaru was throwing rapid and seemingly random attacks, a grin on his face as many of them came close to their mark. He moved swiftly, but in his amusement he made a fatal mistake: his cocky attitude, and his pleasure in trying to read Gaara's almost indecipherable motives - they distracted him. He became predictable. Gaara's gaze rested right where he knew the silver man would plant his foot, and chest-height above that spot, he launched the sand lance. The man in silver did not have time to comprehend as the sand weapon pierced right through the gem and plunged into his heart.

Yuukimaru's face was instantly pale like the snow beneath him as if he had seen the diable himself . . . Well, actually, the look in Gaara's face at that moment was kind of demon-like . . . And as the snow turned red, Yuukimaru's dead and cold body fell into the white, powdery substance until all his limbs were consumed by it. He was taken into the embrace of an element that, although submissive and beautiful in his life, was harsh and unforgiving in his death.

"You could have won," Gaara muttered seriously after a moment. He calmly gazed where the corpse had disappeared. "But you made confidence your enemy."

Gaara stood there by himself for a moment, the frigid wind churning at a slower pace around him. Then he heard the footsteps of his sister and brother coming towards him. They had also won their battles.

"Now what?" Kankuro asked bluntly, leaning over slightly to catch his breath.

"We keep going. Let's get that scroll and get the hell out of here," said Temari, who had already started to walk.

"Hn."

The castle was cold and dark as they stepped through the back entrance. They lit a candle and the flame illuminated the hallways. There were no pictures, no ornaments. . . not even furniture. It stood totally empty as if it had never truly been a castle at all, as if nobody had ever lived in it . . .

The scroll, according to the Hyuuga, was in the main chamber. It surprised Gaara that there were no traps or ninjas protecting it. What probably troubled Gaara the most, however, was how simply they were able to acquire the scroll into their possession. It was practically sitting in the open, and they plucked it up as easily as a cat laps water . . .

But right know, he just wanted to leave this God-forsaken place and go back to the delicious warmth of his natal town.

"So what do we do now?" asked Kankuro again.

"Well, dear little brother, we go to the south wind to see how our team-mates are, take the hostages, and go home." Temari patted the scroll and looked forward. "So LET'S GO!!!"

**With Hinata-chan . . . **

"Ugh . . . W-Where . . .? Where am I?"

Hinata had woken up in a cave . . . Outside, the snow storm had ceased and her friends where nowhere to be found . . .

"Oh . . . The remoline!!!!!" she exclaimed quietly in sudden remembrance. She swiftly winced, however, at a brief pain in her head.

The person that had attacked her had physically thrown her out . . . but she survived, thanks to one of her water techniques. Now the sun was setting and her limbs were stiff from cold, so she made a fire and decided to wait until tomorrow. She just hoped her team-mates were all right, and she wished that the Suna siblings did not run into trouble on their way to the scroll . . . Well, they had Gaara-san, so they should be just fine.

Gaara . . . He was so cold the last time she saw him. She couldn't help but feel a little concerned for him.

_Gaara-san take care of yourself . . . Please, God, watch over him. He is a great person._

After her prayer, she laid down close to the fire and fell asleep.

**SO HOW WAS IT? HOPE YOU LIKED IT¡¡¡¡**


	5. Chapter 5

_'Oh my G-Go-d . . . it's so _cold_ . . .' _

Hinata was awakened from her deep slumber by the cold winds of the Land of Water. The cave she was in was small, and the warm flames of the fire had extinguished long ago, lowering the kunoichi's body by the minute. The deep chill in her bones, her numbed extremities . . . Hinata fled her dreamland and returned to reality with a sudden shake.

_'Oh God, I need to find the others soon! Oh, Kiba, Shino, . . . Temari-san, Kankuro-san . . . Gaara-san . . .'_ At this, the young woman sighed. _' . . . Gaara-san . . .'_

Gaara's name was lingering softly in Hinata's mind. Even though all of their conversations had been short and not very important, they had made Hinata realize that Gaara was a very unique person. She started to feel that she knew parts of the kazekage that no one was able to see: his mature side, his calm side, his sad side . . . She knew his past, and thinking of his loneliness made her heart cry for him. Hinata was no stranger in matters of loneliness. After a moment, she decided that she was going to show Gaara that it was not too late for him.

"He will be happy someday."

With fresh determination that made her forget the cold, she went outside to find out where she was and to search for her teammates. To the castle in the south!

"Uff, thank goodness the storm is over. I can see the castle with my Byakugan perfectly!" Hinata ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the nearby castle, her feet crunching into the pale snow. She just hoped that when she arrived, she would discover that the others were okay.

* * *

"I hope Hinata-chan is okay. I still can't smell her, stupid weather."

"Don't worry, we have to trust her. She knows that we're here."

"Yeah, she's probably on her way."

"Um, excuse me, is there another one?" a voice said, a man's voice.

"Yes, a teammate," was Shino's only answer.

Shino and Kiba had entered the north wing of the empty castle and released the hostage without any difficulty. Any enemies, they assumed, must have been eliminated Gaara and the others, who had likely been attacked while retrieving the scroll in the south wing. However, instead of leaving the castle, they had stayed in the available rooms and rested.

At first, they had been impressed to find just one Konoha nin, but after breaking the bars of the cage they remembered seeing on Hinata's map, they were able to talk to the hostage. The newly freed man told them that the other two ninjas had died while trying to escape.

"So, your team's gone, huh?" Kiba remarked sadly.

"Yes, I'm the only one left. My name is Kuroro, by the way," the former hostage added with a slight bow.

"I'm Kiba, and this is Shino."

"Nice to meet you. So you lost a comrade, too," Kuroro sympathized, sad understanding in his tone.

Kiba clenched his teeth and glanced away. Not wanting to think about it, not quite accepting it -

"No," said Shino. He was looking to the window, while one of his bugs seemed to be making a strange movement.

"What do you mean 'no,' Shino? Did you forget about her already or something?!"

"No," Shino curtly repeated in defense. "She is on her way - my bugs are feeling her chakra."

Kiba went quite still for a second, as if not comprehending what he had just heard. Then his eyes widened and his chest swelled with air.

"Whoo_hooo_!!!!!!" he suddenly shouted and at the same time started a weird dance with Kuroro, who awkwardly tried to follow.

And in that moment, a sudden knock on the door startled them. Kiba and Shino instinctively grabbed their kunai's and watched a head peep around the wooden door and -

"HELLOOOOOO!!"

Temari entered with a huge grin on her face, her two brothers stepping into the room right behind her.

"I assume, by the look of your scratches and wounds, that you had a little fun with the enemies," Shino commented, appearing unimpressed and emotionless.

"Yes, we defeated them all," Gaara replied in a similar tone of voice, but it was a little raspy and tired.

Kiba scratched his head in comprehension. "Oh, so that's why the cells were unprotected."

"You should sleep a little, Gaara ... You had it tough out there," suggested Temari worriedly.

After thinking about it, Gaara decided that it was better to swallow his pride and rest. His body was sore and tired.

"Yes, excuse me." And he laid down in a corner and fell asleep soon after.

The room fell silent again.

"Sooo … who are you?" Kankuro asked, trying to break the ice in the room's tense atmosphere.

"I'm Kuroro, one of the hostages … The others died, and I'm the only one left."

"Hey!! Where's Hinata?!" Temari interrupted.

"Well, she's -"

"I'm here, Temari-san!" called a familiar high, sweet voice from the doorway. They all turned to see Hinata standing there, somewhat slumped and unsteady, having had just arrived short of breath and trembling. She opened her mouth to say something when she was tackled and hugged to death by an overjoyed Kiba.

"Where _happened _to you, Hinata?! It's like one moment you were there, and the next you had disappeared!"

Hinata smiled a little as Kiba stepped back and gave her a once-over. "I-I was attacked and a tornado threw me far away. I stayed in a cave, and when the storm ended, I came here using my Byakugan."

"Wow, that's awesome," said Kankuro and Temari in unison.

In a normal situation, Hinata would have blushed, but her world stopped when she saw Gaara's dirty and wounded body lying on the floor in the corner. Worry verging on panic filled her as her feet, by no conscious effort of her own, carried her to his side, where she started searching out and cleaning his wounds with her healing chakra … leaving everyone with their mouths opened in shock.

Gaara was pulled back to wakefulness when he felt someone's hands, someone touching him. It was a rare person that ever, _ever _touched him. His eyes cracked open to see Hinata's gentle look, which made him remember the only person who had ever gazed at him that way, but the pain that came with his uncle's image forced him to mentally block the memory and say -

"What are you doing?"

"I-I'm healing you," Hinata simply responded, now staring rather intently at her glowing hands. _'Is he angry at me?'_

Gaara stayed silent for a while. The healing process involved a certain proximity between them that Gaara was not used to, but when he felt the annoying cold fading away and his wounds recovering, he decided that it was okay as long as this continued... He would just swallow his pride (again) and let Hinata's warmth go to his body and . . . maybe also his heart?

"Thank you," he muttered, not really looking at her.

Hinata recognized how much it had taken for him to say those simple words, so she just gave him a warm smile, making him glance up at her in a daze. Their eyes caught. Hinata, almost without noticing it, became lost in the deep pools of Gaara's pale, turquoise eyes ... Her breathing slowed, the beating of her heart was soon the only sound to fill her ears. Time stopped, and Hinata's smile faded . . .

Gaara's wounds had been healed, but his body needed rest, and his eyes slowly started to close. Hinata came back to reality when she realized that Gaara had fallen asleep. Seeing his calm, sleepy face made Hinata's heart feel content and warm, but in a different way than she felt about Naruto or Kiba. It was a combination of emotion that she could not understand, but destiny would surely help her resolve that problem. Soon . . . very soon.

"Okay," she murmured to herself.

"Uh . . . Hyuuga-san?" Temari asked.

"Um . . . yes?"

"What was all that about . . . the stare and stuff . . .?" After Temari's question, everyone shut up to listen to Hinata's answer.

"Um …etto …etto ... eeem ... _Well_ …We … I . . . him... IT WAS NO-NO-NOTHING, REALLY."

Hinata started playing with the hem of her big coat, her hair covering her blushing face.

Noticing Hinata's discomfort with the issue, Shino intervened and sent everyone to bed, or "floor" since there were no beds. Soon, the seven ninja were asleep, leaving all the worries for tomorrow . . .

What they didn't know was that in the east, the weather was preparing itself for a massive storm that would change our two main characters' lives for ever . . . 1313


	6. Chapter 6

**HELLO EVERYONE HERE IS CHAPTER 6,HOPE YOU ENJOY IT¡AND ALSO I WANT TO THANK TEK FOR BEING THE BEST BETA EVERRRRR¡YAY**

Early rays of sunlight passed through the old and dirty windows of the castle. The sun was rising, and it was time for the Konoha and Suna ninjas to interrupt their much needed sleep and arise.

"Urg."

Hinata was the first to open her eyes, but she discovered that the only thing she could see was a mass of red in front of her. Her mind fuzzy with sleepiness, it took her a moment to remember why she was there next to Gaara.

Flashback

The night was quiet. In a room only lit by a little candle, everyone was slumbering except for Hinata. Complicated thoughts about a certain someone stole all of her sleep away, but unbeknownst to her, that certain someone had also been unable to nod off, and he had decided to take a little walk among the shadows. The Hyuuga ran her fingers through her dark hair.

'Oh ... Why does he always have to be on my mind?'

Hinata quietly sighed to herself, shifting on her thin cot to get more comfortable. Moving, fidgeting of all kinds, had always helped her when she felt confused or troubled. Sometimes she supposed her stuttering was like a verbal fidgeting. Right now, though, she wanted to pace, to soothe her agitated thoughts.

'I don't know who he is ... Why do I want him to be happy? Is it because I know what it's like to be rejected? Is it because I know loneliness?'

In a room just above her, a frustrated young man with a confused and lost look was asking himself similar things.

'Why does she care about me? Is she not afraid of me? She doesn't appear to be like other women, but … Could she be pretending? Was that concern I had seen in her eyes just an act?' Gaara's fingers raked through his red hair as he released an irritated growl, but calmer thoughts pulled him back.

'No … Hinata is humble and honest. She came to me … She helped me, she smiled at me, but she sought no rewards … For what possible reason can she look at me the way she does, care the way she cares? The way my father or Yashamaru never did …'

Gaara took a hand to his heart in a pained manner, sad memories overcoming him and making his lonely heart ache. He furrowed his brow at the unpleasantly familiar twinge.

"A-Are you o-okay?" An insecure voice filled with worry came to his ears. He turned abruptly towards the sound and forced his thoughts where they belonged … to the back of his mind.

"Hn, what are you doing here?" was Gaara's only answer in an attempt to sound indifferent.

"I w-was w-worried. I didn't, didn't s-see you in the room, so I-I-I -"

Hinata's stuttering was making Gaara anxious and impatient. He longed for the answer: why? Why? Why?

"Why?" Gaara's thoughts once again coming out of his mouth.

"Wh-why w-what?" Hinata was confused.

"Why do you care for me?"

Gaara glanced down at the slight lift at the corners of her mouth and frowned, despite his sudden warmth, in annoyance. "And why do you always smile at me?" he almost hissed. "Do you find me amusing? Do you think I can't see? You don't know me!" The kage's raised voice startled Hinata. She had never heard him shout - EVER.

"I-I-I do-don't u-u-nders-s-tand."

"Just. Tell. Me. WHY." He knew she was scared, but his heart wanted an answer NOW.

"I c-care because, be-because I know w-what it's like to have that p-pain in your … in your heart." She looked at him with understanding eyes, but there was something else, something that he knew all too well: loneliness, pain, sorrow. He felt like she was somehow showing him her soul and embracing his at the same time.

Gaara's chest tightened at the prospect and his breath stopped in his throat. It was an inexplicable moment when Gaara's heart came to the conclusion that Hinata was special and sincere, so Gaara did something he had never done before for anyone: he showed her his soul. His anger melted away and he looked at her the same way she looked at him, as if to say, "Yes, I feel it, too."

"See? I-I do know you," she hummed with that smile that had driven him crazy for weeks.

They gazed at each other for some long moments, both content in a way they had never expected to be. There was a connection between them now of mutual understanding. There was a connection they weren't used to, and in its freedom, Gaara slowly started noticing how soft Hinata's cheek looked, and Hinata subconsciously began admiring the strength in his teal blue eyes.

The silence between them became awkward.

"Um, it's cold …" Hinata said hesitantly, her toe scuffing the floor to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Let's go back."

They didn't say a word to each other, but words were nothing but letters and sounds compared to the connection that two lonely and hurt people made that night.

Even after they had laid down in their separate cots, their encounter weighed too heavily on their minds, and they found themselves restless in a dreamless night. So they stayed up talking about their lives, their friends - Gaara, in his natural low and serious tone, and Hinata in her familiar quiet and shy manner - until they both fell asleep not so far away from each other, sharing each other's warmth and enjoying the sound of each other's breathing as a baby enjoys a lullaby.

End of flashback

(So, back to the moment when Hinata wakes up and finds Gaara two inches away from her…)

"KYAAAAAAA!"

A strong shout had everyone bolting awake in their cots, searching only to see an immensely confused Gaara and a very red and embarrassed Hinata, who was helplessly trying to hide the fact that she was nervous.

"Damn, you scared the hell outta me," was Kankuro's reaction to the loud scream.

"Hinata, what happened?" Gaara swiftly asked. Everyone else froze. The fact that he didn't call her "Hyuuga-san" left them stupefied. Since when did Gaara talk to her that way?

"O-Oh n-nothing, Gaara-kun," Hinata flushed, delicately touching a hand to her cheek. If Gaara's behavior had stunned his siblings, but now it was time for Hinata's teammates to be surprised. Since when did she start addressing strangers so casually?

"Hnn," Gaara grunted as if nothing had happened.

Hinata just smiled. They were in their own bubble, the events of last night still fresh on their minds and in their hearts. That bubble was soon burst by Kankuro's idiotic mouth.

"Hey … I'm hungry. I want a big, fat, juicy ham - OUCH!" Temari's fan had landed on Kankuro's head.

"Idiot, don't talk about food!"

"Hey! Don't call me idiot -"

"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot …" Temari repeated with a daring face.

"STOOOOP!" Hands in the ears and body on the ground, what a normal sight that was………..(yeah right XD)

"Hahaha," came a small, shy giggle. It was Hinata, who had her small hand over her mouth, trying to contain her laughter.

"I told you they always do this," Gaara said to her in a mocking tone.

"Yes, your family is really something, isn't it?" she said, smiling and still laughing, a special shine in her eyes that Gaara had gotten used to last night, even though it had been dark. Hinata's eyes seemed to have such a beautiful glow whenever she was happy …

"Well, as you can see -"

Both of them were so concentrated in their own little chat that they didn't notice Kiba's and Shino's and Temari's and Kankuro's and Kuroro's (who had just woken up) stares, their blatant and oh-so-shocked stares. What they were seeing were two normally reserved people, complete strangers to one another, chatting casually and amiably together. Gaara - Gaara - was smiling, and Hinata seemed to be so open and happy.

When ...?

How…?

Why….?

They were about to ask all these questions and more when the castle started to tremble, and the windows started to break, so now the only thing that mattered was to ...

"RUN!" Kuroro's shout was heard, and in a fraction of a second they were all dashing down the large stairs of a castle that was literally falling apart, bricks crashing at their feet and dust blasting against them from all directions. The group took one last glance to see if everyone was okay, but two of their friends were missing.

"HINATA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"GAARA!"

The castle had fallen down, and Gaara and Hinata were nowhere to be found. Everyone feared for their lives. They prepared to go and search for them between the collapsed mass of stone, brick, and broken glass, but something stopped them in their tracks.

A huge mass of storm clouds was looming towards them. The cold snow was coming fast, the wind whipping it about their frames. There was no time left, and they had to run and look for a cave or something to shield themselves from the coming onslaught. All they could do was hope for their missing comrades safety.

'Gaara, Hinata … Please, please be okay. Please, God, if you hear me, please watch over them.' It was everyone's silent prayer as they ran fast, away from eye of the strongest storm they had ever seen and further away from the two whose situation was unknown.

Watch out for the next chapter…..more GaaHina fluff on the way JXD


	7. Chapter 7

Far away from the fallen castle, a group of ninjas were hiding from the storm, all deeply slumbering except for one whose mind tormented her into wakefulness.

The castle had collapsed, its heavy walls bursting into pieces.

Gaara and Hinata were both missing - they might have been _crushed_. How could this have happened? Nobody knew for sure if they were safe or even together.

We should have gone back and rescued them. What if they had _died?_

_'Little brother…'_'

By now, Temari's tears were running down her dirty face, her eyes preoccupied and filled with sorrow.

They were all sleeping in a small cave Kiba made for them since their escape from the castle. The raging storm coming towards them was just too much,but Temari was too worried about her brother to even care if she was tired or hurt. Once again, looking to the nightly sky, she prayed. Little did she know that Gaara and Hinata were going to have an adventure that would change their lives for ever.

**Earlier during the castle's collapse...**

"Hinata!" Gaara shouted,searching quickly forhis new friend among the pieces of castle brick falling dangerously fast.

"Gaara-kun!"

Hinata's voice rang through the walls, and Gaara was finally able to see her. Her arms were raised skyward as if she was holding something, and when the view cleared a little he realized that she was lifting up a water barrier.

"Gaara-kun, enter now!" Gaara didn't think twice and quickly stood under the barrier.

Both were able to escape safe and sound just as the enormous building collapsed, but when they did, they found the threshold of a not-so-kind storm tearing up the snowy landscape. Even at their current stage, the winds emanating from the tornadoes were too strong for Hinata to handle them, and the barrier broke.

At this rate, Gaara knew that they would be sucked into the storm's center if they didn't do something, so he instinctively put his arms around Hinata's waist to keep her close. Even with icy winds tearing at their hair and clothes, Hinata blushed the whole rainbow, but she felt Gaara moving, so she started to move as well. The biggest storm in years was about to be unleashed. Now was no time to be ashamed.

"Hinata, we need to find a way out of this!"

"But how? I don't see any -" Hinata stopped in the middle of the sentence as her eye caught a point in the distance high in the mountain. Hinata had stayed there when her enemy's attack remoline had sent her flying. She knew where to find a place to stay.

"I know where to go." She looked at Gaara with determination in her eyes just like Naruto had looked at him so many times, and he knew that they were going to make it. He didn't know why, but Gaara felt as if he could trust her with his life.

"Which way?" said Gaara with newly found determination.

"To the north!" said Hinata, pointing towards the mountain.

"Lets go!" and so they ran as fast as their legs could carry them to their destination.

The journey was hard. Anyone unprepared or in poor physical condition would have perished almost immediately, disappearing beneath the storm-blown drifts for years to come. Thankfully, Gaara had a fighting chance. Despite his fatigue and susceptibility to the cold, both his body and mind were hardened by experience. But after falling waist-deep in snow drift after snow drift, using Hinata's Byakugan to seek out the best paths, and exhausting their chakra reserves just to keep warm, Hinata knew that they had to get to their destination soon.

Finally, the two ninjas arrived. The cave had the remains of Hinata's previous fire, so they were able to warm themselves with the few logs she had left behind. However, Hinata noticed that something was off. Gaara was sweating a lot despite the cold weather, and he had trouble breathing. He was shaking. The distance they had ran had tired them out, especially Gaara, whose previous fight was still weakening him.

"Gaara-kun, are you ok?" She raised her hand to touch his forehead and realized that he was feverish, and burning.

"Oh no!" As a medic-nin, Hinata knew that this could get ugly if he wasn't treated soon. However, she didn't have the necessary elements with her and the nearest town was an hour away.

Hinata, forgetting her usual clumsiness, caught Gaara before he hit the cold, hard ground beneath them.

"Please, Gaara-kun, hold on, everything will be ok," Hinata pleaded, holding him close to her, and for a second Gaara's teal eyes opened to meet her ivory ones.

"Hi-Hina…ta-…"

Gaara grimaced. God, how he hated to be this vulnerable. Why had he chosen to get sick today of all days?

"Shhh, everything will be fine, don't worry… Sleep." Hinata softly smiled at him the same way she had when they first met.

Despite the deep shivers wracking his body, Gaara felt an inner calm now that he knew that Hinata was someone he could trust. He decided to follow her command, but before he closed his eyes he managed to quietly murmur, "T-Thank you... for e-ev-verything," and a newfound emotion stirred in his eyes. Hinata's words had reached the deepest part of his heart, and Gaara thought, _'How long has it been since someone held me and talked to me like this?'_ That question floated inside his mind; once a cold, uncomfortable snowflake, it was now a grain of sand on the warmest breeze.

"Sleep..." Hinata gently repeated. Gaara dozed off to rest.

Hinata was about to cry. She completely understood his feelings, so she held him even closer and kissed his damp, feverish forehead softly just above his kanji.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear, knowing that he wouldn't hear.

But he did. He did.

"I….too," Gaara tried to articulate his response, but Hinata was too shocked by her own confession to hear. What had she just said, I love you? She loved him? Hinata looked down at Gaara who has resting in her lap, this man whom she met a year ago and had talked to him not more than ten times. How? When?

Then she remembered something that her mother told her once.

"Love is not something that can be explained, it just happens." She didn't understand it then, but now she did. She fell in love with this man who was just as lonely as her, who suffered the same pain that she did. She fell in love with Sabaku no Gaara.

"I _have_ to save you. I am never going to let you die, _never!"_ Hinata whispered passionately, making a quick her medical supplies and with limited chakra, the most she would be able to do is keep him alive for only a few more hours. The firewood was going to run out very soon. They could get buried in the cave by an avalanche. Gaara's fever was conquering him.

There was a village less than four miles away on the other side of the mountain. Hinata had seen it on a map when they had been preparing for their mission. If she could get Gaara to that village, then they might be able to save him. Hinata just had to survive the journey long enough.

Hinata took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself with an old Hyuuga mantra, before turning to Gaara. She lifted him onto her back with a grunt and secured him there with a brief jutsu she had learned from Tsunade. Then she started the tedious journey to the nearest village, knowing that if she didn't, Gaara could die. Now that she had found the answer to so many questions, she just couldn't bear to let that happen to him.

_'Gaara, please don't die,'_ and looking ahead she ran and ran and ran…

**In the cave of the five ninja...**

"Temari, you should rest," Kankuro said.

"No, I just can't," Temari protested. She clutched the handle of her large fan, staring off stubbornly into the white torrent outside.

"Don't worry! Hinata is a water controller and a medic-nin. She will protect Gaara," Shino with his calm voice.

"Yeah! Hinata will be fine, I just know it," Kiba said with his usual energy. And Kiba was right.

Hinata had been walking in the snow for forty-five minutes when she was finally able to see the village. She had been thinking about how many things she wanted to say to Gaara, now that they were friends. She could show him her house and her garden, and she wondered how many things he could show her. Her imagination was running wild as she carried her love towards safety, but the cruel reality was that she was getting tired. Her movements were slower, and Gaara was getting sicker by the minute and seemed to get every heavier every second.

_'Oh no, I have a fever, too. If I don't pull myself together, we will both freeze to death!' _

Now Hinata was getting sick, too; her vision began to blur, and her eyes were closing. The storm relentlessly raged around her.

The village was a few meters away when she could make out the shape of houses. With a stumbling step, she carefully took Gaara off her back and laid him between two snow drifts…

"Help!" she cried out weakly, her voice disappearing into the wind.

Her vision became even more blurry when she slowly took off her thick coat and sank to her frozen knees. Her stiff limbs trembled as she put it on Gaara. Hinata saw people coming close to her but she knew it was too late. She was going to die right there, she would never be able to tell Gaara she loved him.

"At least you will be safe…" she murmured to the man she had given her heart to, her blue lips sticking together with every word and her lashes dark against her bloodless face. "Even if I die, at least you are alive. I love you, Gaara, I love…"

Hinata's head fell to the ground along with Gaara, knowing that even if she never opened her eyes again, at least Gaara would.


	8. Chapter 8

When the sky cleared and the storm finally ended, the first rays of light came to wake a red-haired boy who was lying in a humble bed. Surprise was written all over his tired face as he examined his surroundings. One question surfaced in his mind.

"How did I end up here?" he quietly whispered, but no answer came. Actually there was no sound at all; he was alone in a little room.

Gaara closed his eyes and tried to remember how had he gotten there. With a sudden flash his memory returned.

Hinata.

Him being sick, and the worry in her eyes.

_Hinata_.

Her carrying him to the nearest town. All the things that happened in that cave and all the things that he had heard...

'_She said she loved me,' _Gaara thought in astonishment, realization slowly dawning on him. He raised his head and stared past the ceiling of the wood house, ignoring his new headache as he began reflecting on everything he had lived with this girl.

'_When I met her a year ago, she seemed interesting. She was shy and weird to say the least, but also very beautiful. Though... not the usual kind of beautiful you see every day.'_ Gaara closed his eyes thoughtfully. _'Hinata's beauty comes from her heart. It's like it emanates from the inside out._

_'Hinata... She showed me so many pieces of herself. She is strong, reliable, warm... She was marked by the same loneliness that I was marked with, and just like Naruto, she was able to become who she has become: a great kunoichi and a great person.'_ Images of that night in the castle filled his mind.

Gaara never thought that he could have such a high opinion of a woman. Hinata was definitely a special person, and she had told him that she loved him.

Could it be true that someone had actually fallen in love with this monster? Did he feel the same way? The only thing Gaara was certain of was that somehow, whenever he thought about Hinata, his chest would feel a little bit lighter and his heart would beat just a little bit faster.

"Is this love?" he finally asked himself in his raspy and quiet voice with his hand on his heart, but this time there came an answer.

"What else could it be?"

Gaara glanced up at the doorway in speechless surprise. The voice had come from an elderly woman with a gentle look on her worn face. When had this old lady entered? How much had he said aloud? He really needed to stop that habit…

Half-stifled giggles floated into the room, and Gaara realized with reddening cheeks that the old woman was not his only audience.

The elderly woman heard them, too. She turned on the figures peering around the door frame.

"Now, what are all you girls doing here? Didn't I tell you to leave the poor young man alone? Shoo! Shoo!" She waved at them with her hands, and there was a flurry of movement in the hallway as a group of young women quickly scurried away, their whines and giggles fading away with their footsteps.

The old lady turned to Gaara with an amused sigh. "Don't mind them. Around this time of the year, our village has few visitors. And even fewer among those visitors are attractive ones," she added with a wink. "I swear, though. When I found you two, I thought you were dead!"

"You found us?" Gaara tensed. "Where is Hinata?" he asked seriously, his eyes betraying his worry as he suddenly remembered that he had yet to see the dark-haired kunoichi.

"Don't worry, your girlfriend is out of danger. You've both been out for two days. She is sleeping in the other room."

Gaara felt relieved knowing Hinata was alright. He unconsciously let go a small sigh.

The old lady walked over to a chair by his bedside and leaned against it. She studied him for a moment.

"You really love each other, don't you?" she said with a smile, making Gaara abruptly turn towards her with a very confused look on his face (you don't see that often XD).

_'How can she tell?' _he wondered.

Gaara had spent an hour thinking about Hinata, coming to no conclusions, and then this old lady just waltzed in here and claimed they loved each other. As if to answer his silent question, she added:

"It is written in your eyes."

"My eyes?" Now Gaara was twice as perplexed. "Eyes don't speak, do they?"

"Of course they do!" the woman chuckled, though kindly. "When you heard that she was alright, your eyes showed me how worried you were."

Gaara said nothing at all. He was too shocked to do so; this lady actually made sense.

The lady seemed to read Gaara's mind. She gazed at him steadily. "If this Hinata girl were in trouble, would you give your life for her?" she asked him.

"Of course," Gaara quickly answered with a frown. Somehow the thought of Hinata dying was very painful. She had truly become part of his heart, and he didn't want to lose her now.

"And you know why?" the old woman pressed.

"Why?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Because you love her."

Gaara took some time to think, and suddenly all of his questions and confusions disappeared. It was as if a wind had blown the clouds away, and he could suddenly see the sun. A small smile appeared on his lips and his gaze grew gentle. He finally knew.

"I really do." What a fuzzy feeling he had... it felt great.

Gaara realized that he needed to see Hinata, and now, so he tossed off his covers and slid out of bed. He took a second to test his limbs. His body had fully recovered. Gaara gave the old lady a thankful nod, which she returned with a wink, and with that he left his room and went to Hinata's.

And there she was, fast asleep. She looked so... beautiful. She was curled up on her side, her dark hair spread across her pillow.

Gaara tentatively reached out to touch her cheek. It was soft and warm. He began to subconsciously explore Hinata's face, his gentle fingers tracing her nose, her eyes, her lips... He trailed a finger down her neck, then up to her cheek again where he brushed his knuckles along her jaw line. Hinata began to stir, and soon her eyes opened. Gaara said nothing, and she just stared at him as if she was in shock.

After twenty seconds of deep silence, Hinata's eyes started to get watery and tears began streaming down her face.

"I…I thought you…" Hinata choked, pushing herself into a sitting position. She dragged her covers off and stumbled out of bed, lifting her tiny hands to cup Gaara's face. Her ivory eyes were filled with pain yet such joy as tears spilled down her cheeks. "G-Gaara, you were... I t-thought you were -"

Gaara put his own hands on top of Hinata's and slowly bent to give her a light kiss on the lips.

Now it was Hinata's turn to be surprised. She blinked at him as he pulled his face away a few inches, his teal eyes looking at the water dripping off her chin. Pink tinted his cheeks. Hinata's tears stopped and silence filled the room once more, but the room was also full of peace and warmth. Hinata already knew that she was in love with Gaara. Her mind stopped when she heard her love's voice.

"I just want you to know that…" Gaara paused in the middle of the sentence to gaze into Hinata's eyes, which were filled with love and expectation.

"I love you, Hinata," Gaara said simply, words he had longed and needed to say for a very long time.

Hinata give a small gasp of awe and begin to flush. Gaara smiled gently, opening his mouth to say it again and again, when Hinata suddenly threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. Gaara felt his ears redden.

"Gaara-kun!" quivered her muffled voice. Hinata felt tears sting in her eyes as his comforting arms wrapped around her. She was so happy, oh so happy! She felt as if her elated heart might beat right out of her chest.

They stood there for a moment, tightly holding each other like they would never let go. Gaara pulled back enough to lift Hinata's chin with his finger.

"Hinata..." he whispered. He bent down and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against hers to give her a kiss brimming with newfound passion. Hinata clung to him. She kissed him back shyly but just as eagerly, her senses overwhelmed. It was their first kiss: a bit awkward, yet filled with unmistakable love.

Gaara's hand rose to hold the back of her head. He ran his fingers through Hinata's hair, feeling like a thirsty man finally satiated. He was strong yet tender, and they deepened the kiss until the lack of air made them stop.

Gaara and Hinata rested their foreheads together, listening to each other breathe.

A happy sigh escaped Hinata. Gaara chuckled at the sound, causing Hinata to blush as he rumbled beneath her. She slid her arms down and took his hands in hers. Gaara looked at her, puzzled.

"I love you, too, Gaara-kun," Hinata said, and flashed her beautiful smile. Gaara felt his insides melt.

"Congratulations to you two," the old lady said with a big grin on her face, appearing without warning.

Hinata leapt like a startled deer. She began to whirl into a defensive position, but Gaara quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. Gaara's ears got red with embarrassment from the woman's words. _'…Is this how you're supposed to feel when you're in love?'_

It took a second for it to click that the old woman was not an enemy. Hinata's eyes widened, and then remembered what the old woman had said. Her face lit up as she blushed the whole rainbow.

"Um... Thank you …I-I-I guess." Hinata started to poke her fingers together but didn't separate from Gaara, who was keeping her close.

"Don't you worry," the elderly woman chuckled. "But I'm still amazed. I never thought I'd find a young couple collapsed practically on my doorstep. What were you thinking, traveling alone in these mountains?"

"Oh," Hinata answered, "we weren't alone, we were -" Hinata stopped suddenly. Everything with Gaara had made her forget about Temari and the others. They were probably looking for them.

She glanced at Gaara, who had a similar expression in his face.

"Gaara-kun, we have to go!"

"Yes, no time to lose." He ran to get his stuff, and Hinata did the same. The old woman blinked in surprise.

"But you've only just awoken!" she exclaimed to Hinata. "Youth these days..."

Hinata did her best to explain without giving any information away. After all, they did not officially complete their mission until they got back to Konoha.

When they were ready, Hinata used her Byakugan to see if they were close, and thank kami they were. "Let's go!"

They went to say goodbye to the old woman before they left. She handed them a small bag of supplies. "Just a little something for the journey," she said with a smile. "Take care of each other. Oh, and one more thing..." She leaned forward with a wink. "If it ever gets too cold out there, a quick peck on the lips does wonders."

Faces ablaze, the couple still managed to thank her warmly before setting off. They traveled quickly towards the rest of the team, which according to Hinata were at a camp halfway to Konoha.

"They probably think we're dead," said Hinata.

"Or maybe they trust us and know that we're ok."

"You really think so?" she asked anxiously.

He looked her in the eye and nodded. Then he took her hand and gave a small squeeze before letting go. Hinata felt all of her concerns go with it.

Temari let out a worried and weary sigh. They were heading back to Konoha to ask for reinforcement so they could find her little brother and the Hyuuga girl. She just hoped they had made it out of that damned castle. She let escape another sigh.

"Don't worry, they'll be just fine."

"Yeah, sis! Besides, the storm's over so they must be in some cave… and who knows what they're doing, if you know what I mean," Kankuro said suggestively. Temari smacked him hard over the head with her fan.

"Don't say stupid things, stupid!" she said.

"Hey, don't call me stupid!" Kankuro replied angrily.

"Stupid, stupid, _stupid, _STUPID -!"

"Stoooooooooop!" Kankuro shouted with his hands on his ears.

"Why don't you both shut up," cut in a familiar voice.

The two froze for a split second before rounding towards that voice.

It was Gaara.

"GAARA!" Temari yelled. She ran and tackled him with a big hug, while Kankuro patted his back. Both were equally happy.

As for Hinata, she was being squeezed to death by her teammates. When she could finally breathe, Hinata looked up to find Gaara's eyes on her. She smiled at him. Gaara smiled back and turned to face his siblings.

"So," said Shino in his usual calm voice.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?" Temari finished with a screech.

"Yeah, she was like totally hysteric when you went miss- OHHH!" stopped Kankuro when a familiar fan struck him over the head.

"We escaped soon after you, but had to go separate ways since the storm had already started," Gaara began to explain

"…Then we had to go to the nearest town because…" Hinata's voice died and her eyes seemed to tear a little.

Gaara understood perfectly how she was feeling. That had not been a pleasant experience, especially for Hinata, who had carried his weight four miles through a storm. He tried to show his support by standing next to her and putting his hand on her shoulder.

Hinata looked at him, feeling better already. She realized that Gaara could understand her very well, and it just made her love him even more.

Kiba, Shino, and the Suna siblings watched the scene play out in front of their eyes like some kind of weird movie. The expressions in Gaara's and Hinata's eyes showed so much love and mutual understanding that it was difficult to believe it was actually happening.

By the time Hinata remembered her teammates, she turned to see a bunch of open-mouthed, petrified ninjas.

Gaara didn't take long to realize why. He sighed. An explanation was in order.

"Ehem…" Shino coughed. "So?"

"We-we-well we... um... We are... Um em..." Hinata tried to explain, but she was too embarrassed.

Gaara slipped an arm around her waist and finished the sentence:

"Dating."

Silence overcame the whole forest as if nature itself was surprised.

Hinata was already red as a tomato, but her heart was overjoyed since the man she loved recognized her as his girlfriend.

Yes, Gaara was her boyfriend now.

_'A boyfriend... what a nice thing,' _she thought with a silly smile.

When she looked up to find a pair of aquamarine eyes gazing at her lovingly, her smile only widened. This day was just beginning, and it already was the best day she had ever had.

After a long talk, some surprised yells, and a couple of faints (guess who), the now reunited team started the journey back to Konoha. Shino and Kiba scouted ahead to detect any threats. Temari and Kankuro were close behind. And at the back of the group was Hinata and Gaara, moving at their own pace with hands joined together in a light grip, talking happily just like they had that night in the castle.

Before they knew it, darkness had fallen, so the group made a camp. Hinata was exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately. Gaara stayed up watching the stars.

_'God, if you are up there... I want to say sorry for all the times I cursed my life and You. Thank You for giving me my life and thank You for giving me the chance to love and be loved in return.' _

A couple of tears rolled down Gaara's cheeks as he looked towards the glittering black sky, knowing he would never be alone again because he had Hinata. He was going to ask her to come to Suna with him, and they would live there together.

'_Sabaku no Hinata... _

_'... Hn. Sounds good to me.'_

And with that beautiful thought, he went to sleep.


End file.
